Good morning, and happy Tuesday.
Family members of the five young women killed in a car crash in Minneapolis earlier this month say they want an independent investigation into what happened. MPR News reports Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the community deserves to know more about what led up to the crash, including whether there was a police pursuit, how traffic camera video of the crash made it onto social media and whether the state followed the proper procedures in reinstating the driver’s license of the suspect. That is the goal of the investigation, and also to hold accountability to those individuals who either violated their own policies or to hold accountability to those who were directly or indirectly involved in this incident,” Hussein said.
University of Minnesota students on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses will see a 3.5 percent increase in tuition next year. MPR’s Peter Cox reports for some students, that cost will be offset by increases to state and federal tuition assistance programs. The University of Minnesota Board of Regents on Monday approved a $4.5 billion dollar budget for fiscal year 2024, which also includes tuition hikes of 1 percent on other university campuses."As we mentioned earlier this month, the tuition rate changes for resident undergraduate students will be more than offset for those eligible by the increases in the state grant program and Pell, which also then contribute an amount to increase costs and fees and room and board as well," said Julie Tonneson, the university’s budget director. Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a bill that helps families making less than $80,000 cover tuition costs. Lawmakers also increased a higher ed grant program.
Minnesota is getting more than $650 million from the federal government to further build out broadband internet coverage around the state. MPR's Mark Zdechlik reports it’s part of more than $45 billion in broadband spending for the states announced by the Biden administration Monday. Gov. Tim Walz and other top Minnesota Democrats said the funding will help ensure that every Minnesota household and business has access to high-speed internet. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the funding is based on a bill she introduced that became part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Office of Broadband Development will award the funding through grants.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced more than $8 million in grants to help sell more biofuels in Minnesota. MPR’s Dan Kraker reports the grants will help 33 gas stations around the state install new pumps and dispensers for fuel blends with higher percentages of ethanol and biodiesel, such as E15 and E85. The grants are part of $500 million in funding included in the federal Inflation Reduction Act to increase the availability of domestic biofuels. Fuel stations in Minnesota received about one-third of the funding in this initial round of grants. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday he expects Minnesota will receive additional support. "This grant program that essentially can pay up to 75 percent of the cost of installing these dispensing systems and the storage facilities, that's a deal that’s pretty difficult to say no to," Vilsack said. Five more rounds of grant funding will be available through late 2024.
Former Minneapolis Police Chief Tony Bouza has died. MPR’s Tim Nelson reports: Bouza died Monday at age 94 in Bloomington, at a memory care facility where he had been living with his wife of 66 years, Erica Bouza. After joining the New York Police Department in the 1950s, he rose through the ranks and became a maverick reformer, grew frustrated and took a mid-career turn to Minneapolis, where he was the first prominent outsider to helm the department and challenge the long-standing power of the city’s police establishment and labor union. | 